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Carol Drinkwater is a critically acclaimed actress and author of the international bestseller, The Olive Farm. Among many stage and screen performances, she is probably most widely known for her portrayal of Helen Herriot in the BBC adaptation of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small. She divides her time between London and the south of France.
THE OLIVE SEASON: Amour, A New Life and Olives,too!
In The Olive Season, Carol Drinkwater's much-anticipated follow-up to The Olive Farm, Carol and Michel prepare to exchange vows in, of all places, Polynesia--Michel's answer to Carol's challenging response to his marriage proposal (Only if the ceremony is performed by the King of Tonga!) Upon their return to the south of France as husband and wife, they find there is much hope--and work--to greet them. With a farm consisting of fifty trees producing some of the world's finest olive oil, no longer is the challenge one of restoring the farm but in charting its development and growth. France's rigorous agricultural standards are responsible for some of the world's best produce but also for one of its most infuriating bureaucracies. In order to obtain the coveted AOC rating, Carol and Michel are forced to both expand their farm and to negotiate a Byzantine world of forms, officials, and inspections, including the surveying of their land by a water diviner, who, via a power akin to extrasensory perception, can point out the existence of underground water sources on their property. Further complicating matters is the fact that Carol has become pregnant with the couple's first child and has just accepted a demanding acting role. As the harvest season approaches, dramatic events, culminating in a heartbreaking miscarriage, cast shadows over the olive farm. With all the warmth and vibrancy of the Mediterranean sun, Carol Drinkwater tells her passionate, moving, and utterly uplifting story.
Carol Drinkwater's Summer Reading List
The Mediterranean: Portrait of a Sea
by Ernle Bradford
Bradford's book is a highly researched and informative study of the civilizations that lived, fought and sailed/travelled around the Mediterranean basin. It is particularly fascinating today in the light of recent events in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Greek Myths
by Robert Graves
Graves first published these myths in 1955 but edited them again in 1960. They are a truly marvellous insight into the social, philosophical, religious and cultural history of one the great civilizations of mankind. They are colourful and lively and read like fine drama.
Rory & Ita
by Roddy Doyle
Like Doyle's my roots are also Irish though less than his because I was educated in England at an Irish girls school. A well-written Irish book is always a great pleasure for me. Doyle, who won the Booker Prize for PAddy Clark Ha Ha Ha, is a fine, witty writer and never disappoints.
In the Forest
by Edna O'Brien
Still in the Irish theme is Edna O'Brien's In the Forest. It is a dark thriller based on a true story. O'Brien is one of my favourite writers. Her use of language is inspiring.
Tender Is the Night
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This great, classic novel, which I have read several times, is set in the south of France. Although this novel is about Americans abroad, it is in the same neck of the woods as I write about, not far from where we have our olive farm, and I am keen to re-read it in the light of my own experiences living and working on the Côte d'Azur. His world is the glitzy littoral of Provence. Fitzgerald is another writer whose use of language inspires me.
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Summer Reading Lists
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